Carbon Mapper CEO Riley Duren Named to Grist 50
Published on: Sep 16, 2025
We’re thrilled to announce that Carbon Mapper’s CEO Riley Duren was named as one of the 2025 Grist 50 Fixers!
Each year, Grist culls from thousands of nominees to select a list of top 50 “fixers,” leaders across the U.S. who are working on real-world solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges. These include diverse experts — scientists, artists, policymakers and others — who are making meaningful contributions to a more just and sustainable future.
Carbon Mapper CEO, Riley Duren
As the Chief Executive Officer and founder of the nonprofit Carbon Mapper, Duren leads a team dedicated to a bold mission: driving greenhouse gas emissions reductions by making methane and carbon dioxide data accessible and actionable.
Duren’s work at Carbon Mapper has been crucial in filling knowledge gaps on methane super-emitters. These are sources that emit high volumes of methane (greater than 100kgCH4/hr in the oil and gas sector, according to the Environmental Protection Agency) and are responsible for a disproportionate share of emissions — sometimes as much as 20-60% in certain sectors or regions — making them a major driver of global warming and a key target for mitigation.
Starting during his career at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and continuing at Carbon Mapper, Duren leads programs that develop, pilot, and scale state-of-the-art remote methane detecting technology. This technology pinpoints emissions with extreme clarity and granularity — down to a single facility or piece of equipment. Today, Carbon Mapper is utilizing this technology to provide unprecedented emissions transparency through its public data portal and empowering decision makers to act. Plus, the team assembled a group of partners that help translate this data into insights and action that can yield concrete mitigation results. Learn more about Carbon Mapper’s work here.
“I am honored to be named as one of Grist’s 50 Fixers and to be in the company of other leaders, dedicated to bringing innovative solutions to the urgent climate challenge. Methane emissions pose a significant near-term threat to our environment and health, but they can — and must be fixed. Our work at Carbon Mapper is doing just that by empowering local climate action on a global scale.”
Recognized with two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, the Systems Engineering Excellence Award, and numerous group achievement honors, Duren continues to lead and innovate within scientific and climate communities. With over 70 peer-reviewed publications and an advisory role in the National Academy of Science, he is helping shape the future of emissions monitoring and mitigation.
His work has informed national and state-level policies and agencies, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board.
View the full list of 2025 Grist 50 Fixers.